Guitar tailpiece



Jaim, 3L W61 R. MATTEO GUITAR TAILPIECE Filed Dec. 2e, 1957 INVENTOR. FH M7727@ United States Patent O GUITAR TAILPIECE Ralph Matteo, 315 E. 32nd sf., Brooklyn, NX.

Filed Dec. 26, 1957, ser. No. 705,219

1 claim. (cl. :i4- 299) This invention relates to musical instruments and, more particularly, to a tailpiece for guitars.

It has been found that the hand of a guitarist is often subject to excessive strain which adversely affects his playing ability. It has also been found that it is possible to relieve this strain by adjusting the tension and position of the strings relative to the instrument. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tailpiece for guitars which will enable the guitarist to adjust each individual string to suit his own feel and touch.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable guitar tailpiece that is simple in construction, efiicient in operation, and which will overcome the aforementioned difficulties.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a tailpiece for guitars that will facilitate the application and removal of the strings of the instrument in a quick and simple manner, and to reduce the tensile stress upon the neck of the guitar.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a guitar tailpiece made in accordance with the present invention in operative use;

Figure 2 is a front plan view of a tailpiece made in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the device shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of certain parts of the device shown in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in Figure 5.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to Figures 1 to 3 thereof, a tailpiece 10 made in accordance With the present invention is shown in operative association with a guitar 12. It will be noted that this device includes an angular fastening plate 15 having a plurality of mounting holes 14 for receiving screws or the like therethrough for securing the plate to the back end of the guitar 12. The forward upper end of the fastening plate 15 is provided with bearings 16 through which a hinge pin 17 extends for rotatably supporting the mid portion of a plurality of fingers 20. Collets 19 maintain the fingers 20 in proper spaced apart relationship, while a threaded cap 18 secures the hinge pin 17 in operative association with the unit.

The length of the fingers 20 varies uniformly from one end of the plate to the other so as to accommodate each of the different strings 30 of the guitar. When the guitar is to be played by a left-handed person, the position of each of the fingers 20 may be reversed merely by removing the hinge pin 17 and rearranging the respective parts.

With reference now to Figures 4 through 6 of the draw- Patented Jan. 31, 1961 ing, it will be noted that the forward end of each finger 20 is provided with a socket portion 25 for removably receiving the rear end of the string 30. Each such socket 25 includes a rearwardly and downwardly opening hook portion 26, and a forwardly extending channel 28. Thus, the rear terminal portion of the string 30 is received within the channel 28 while the knot 29 thereof is secured within the bight portion of the hook 26. The removal and installation of the strings is thus a simple matter.

Referring again to Figures l to 3 of the drawing, it will be noted that the terminal portions of each of the fingers 2) is provided with a threaded adjustment thumb screw 22 which extends perpendicularly through each finger into abutting relationship with the adjacent portion of the mounting plate 15. Thus, by adjusting position of the thumb screw 22, it is possible to adjust the position of the finger 20 relative to the other lingers in order to adjust the tension on the associated string. These adjustment screws can also be used as a fine tuning mechanism for adjusting the pitch of each string. In addition, the socket portion of each finger is of sufficient size to accommodate strings of substantially any gauge. In actual use, if the guitarist feels that his hand is becoming strained, it is only necessary to adjust the respective adjustment screws to reduce the tension upon the associated strings which will, of course, also adjust the pitch of each string, as stated above. In the event that a string breaks, it becomes a simple matter to remove and replace the broken string with little interruption of playing time.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to the construction shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such is not to be construed as imparting limitations upon the invention, which is best defined by the claim appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

A tailpiece for a guitar comprising, in combination, a substantially rigid mounting plate, a support pin, said support pin being carried upon one side of said rigid mounting plate, a plurality of spaced apart parallel fingers, each one of said parallel fingers being pivotally carried intermediate its ends upon said support pin, gripping means at one end of each of said fingers gripping the adjacent end of a guitar string said gripping means including a hook portion, limit means at the opposite end of each of said fingers limiting rotation thereof upon said support pin relative to the other ones of said fingers, said string gripping means at said one end of each of said fingers comprising a downwardly and rearwardly opening portion, said hook portion having a longitudinally extending groove receiving a string therewithin, and said hook receiving the knot of a string for preventing outward longitudinal movement thereof, said means for limiting rotation of said fingers comprising a transversely extending thumb screw supported by said opposite end of each finger for threaded movement substanu tially normal to said mounting plate, all of said fingers being of different length, and said rear end of each of said fingers being aligned along a line parallel to said pin.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,657,890 Mertes Ian. 3l, 1928 2,124,439 Sunshine July 19, 1938 2,877,678 Infeld Mar. 17, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 268,675 Great Britain Apr. 7, 1927 (Patent of addition to No. 243,644, Dec. 4, 1924) 138,476 Austria Aug. 10, 1934 

